As technology has grown by leaps and bounds, so too has the effort to better protect the environment. While sustainability seemingly took a back seat for a few years, suppliers, converters and brands alike are united in their efforts to generate a better carbon footprint. This can only occur by using label materials that work in the recycling stream.

Recyclability and environmental friendliness are not just buzzwords. Suppliers have gone to great lengths to implement practices and procedures to help curb climate change. Avery Dennison, a materials supplier based in Mentor, OH, USA, has enacted a host of sustainability goals to meet by 2025.

As of September 2019, Avery Dennison has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30% compared to its 2015 baseline, exceeding the company’s 2025 goal ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, over 88% of Avery Dennison’s paper is now certified to be sustainably-sourced.

In 2020, Avery Dennison has continued to emphasize a circular economy, including more recycled content in its products to help develop the market for recycled materials.

“We’ve introduced a number of recycled content products, including our recycled content liner solution,” says says Louise Sullivan, director of sustainability and innovation at Avery Dennison.  “Our recycled PET (rPET) liner uses 30% PCW materials, and we’ve also expanded our CleanFlake technology portfolio. Now available with our Global MDO Next Generation film for semi-squeeze PET containers, CleanFlake helps to ensure it the label separates cleanly from PET containers during the recycling process.”

Avery Dennison’s customers have echoed these desires for enhanced recyclability.

“Consumers continue to drive the need for environment-friendly solutions and transparency,” notes Sullivan. “This trend equates to a Sustainability Revolution. We believe that demand for recyclable labels will only increase. Sustainability has become a cornerstone in packaging design and we are seeing the package being created with its end state in mind. This leads to greater desire for circular materials.

CleanFlake technology enables pressure-sensitive label materials to cleanly separate from PET containers during the recycling process, leaving no adhesive residue on the PET flake.  The resulting clean PET flakes significantly improve the rPET yield in the recycling process while maintaining the shelf appeal that pressure-sensitive labels are known for. 

To help improve the recyclability of paper packaging, Avery Dennison has developed a new adhesive that is compatible with the existing recycling stream. The company’s new TrueCut All-Temp Adhesive Technology, or AT2550, is purpose-built for paper facestocks and specially designed for shipping, weigh scale and warehouse and logistics applications. AT2550 is also repulpable; this means the adhesive is fully recyclable and products labeled with this platform can go back into the paper recycled waste stream.

To make these goals a reality, Avery Dennison has extended beyond its own operations. The company has taken a collaborative approach to providing the industry access to matrix recycling.

“This week, we announced a scalable matrix recycling program with RoadRunner Recycling to help label converters achieve their zero waste-to-landfill goals,” comments Sullivan. “Through a venture investment in RoadRunner Recycling’s Series C round, Avery Dennison is expanding the accessibility of matrix recycling and leveraging RoadRunner’s machine learning technology to optimize matrix collection and recycling processes.”

Avery Dennison’s sustainable efforts have received notice, too. The company recently earned recognition from The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), as its clear BOPP film portfolio has been certified to comply APR’s Critical Guidance Protocol for HDPE recycling. The APR Critical Guidance is a comprehensive laboratory scale protocol that is used to assess the compatibility of packaging innovations with reclamation systems. The Critical Guidance for HDPE-CG-01  was released on July 20, 2020. Avery Dennison is the first label manufacturer to achieve certification in accordance with the new guidelines. The company has previously achieved certification with APR Critical Guidance for PET plastics.

“We have received a tremendous amount of positive feedback on our latest APR recognition for clear BOPP film labels that allow for HDPE recycling,” adds Sullivan. “It’s extremely important for us to have a reputable association like the APR recognizing our materials and making sure we are all creating products that will advance the industry. Since there are no federal regulations in the US, we depend on associations like the APR to help establish guidelines and make sure that in the future our products will be positioned to meet or exceed those regulations.”

On a global level, Avery Dennison Brazil won a Label Industry Global Award 2020, the Environmental and Sustainability Award, for its implementation of a Circular Program to connect converters, brand owners, recyclers and others, to direct waste that would have previously been discarded in landfills into the production of cellulose paper and paper towels. It was recognized by the judges as a blueprint for the future development of the industry.